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JOHNATHAN Thurston has warned the NRL to expect a player backlash if the annual Indigenous All Stars game is sent to the scrapheap.

The Indigenous All Stars clash will not be played next year because of November’s World Cup, with Australian representatives such as Thurston, Cameron Smith and Greg Inglis likely to have returned to training only three weeks before the concept game.

The NRL said it had officially "rested" the annual fixture for 12 months, but its future could depend on whether February’s nines tournament, which is yet to be confirmed, is a hit.

As the Indigenous All Stars captain and one of league’s greatest indigenous role-models, Thurston said players would be filthy to see the All Stars game die.

"They’ll be a lot of blow-ups," he said.

"I know the players love playing in that game, and the game does more for the community than any other game throughout the year.

"If it’s not played the year after (then) I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of backlash from the players."

The brainchild of former NRL player Preston Campbell, the Indigenous All Stars encounter has been played for the past four years and was a staple of the NRL pre-season.

With 160 players taking part in the World Cup in England, and with the nines tournament expected to be confirmed soon, there was simply no room for next year’s All Stars match.

While disappointed with the game’s suspension, Thurston said he appreciated the NRL’s reasons for its decision.

"A lot of the players will be playing in the World Cup at the end of the year and obviously they put player welfare first," he said.

"I think after every World Cup year they’re going to have to do this. When you get back to training you need more than four weeks to prepare for that game because of the intensity it’s played at.

"A lot of the boys who were playing in that game would have been coming back in late January, even the start of February, and it’s just not enough preparation to play in that game."

The NRL yesterday launched a week-long Festival of Indigenous Rugby League program to take the place of the All Stars game.

The festival will be held in Newcastle and is scheduled to feature a trial match between the Knights and an indigenous team made up of players from the New South Wales Koori Rugby League knockout and Queensland Murri carnivals.

Campbell said resting next year’s concept game would help protect its high-quality brand.

"We can’t afford to devalue the All Stars concept and not have the best against the best," he said.

"At the same time everyone also recognises that All Stars is more than just a game, so I am more than confident the alternative event proposed for 2014 engages the community and is a fitting celebration of Indigenous rugby league."